Proposal to loosen rules on the former Mad Inlet heads to CRC

Published: Friday, December 6, 2013 at 11:45 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, December 6, 2013 at 11:45 a.m.

A proposal to remove an inlet hazard designation in Sunset Beach will go before the N.C. Coastal Resources Commission (CRC) at its meeting in Atlantic Beach next week, but it's unclear whether the board will reach a decision on the matter at that time.

"They could potentially vote, they may not," said Michele Walker, a spokeswoman for the state Division of Coastal Management. "I don't know if they will or not."

The proposal, originally recommended by the commission's science panel in a May 2010 report as part of an ongoing review of the state's 12 developed inlets, would loosen development rules on the former Mad Inlet in the Brunswick County town. The inlet, which separated protected, undeveloped Bird Island from Sunset Beach, closed naturally in 1997. But the area has retained its inlet hazard designation, including development regulations that are typically only applied to projects adjacent to open ocean inlets. Those regulations are more restrictive due to the unstable nature of inlets.

"Removal of the (designation) will allow property owners to develop under the more common oceanfront development standards as opposed to the more restrictive (inlet hazard) standards," according to documents from the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources, which also state that Mad Inlet is unlikely to reopen.

"An inlet hazard area is a specific area of environmental concern which has specific development rules associated with it," Walker said. "Since Mad Inlet has not been an inlet since 1997, we are proposing to not call it an inlet hazard area anymore for permit purposes."

Sunset Beach residents and officials have strongly protested the measure, and the Sunset Beach Town Council last week passed a resolution formally objecting to the proposal.

"The Town Council feels that there is a probability that Mad Inlet could reopen, given the amount of sand movement that will be experienced if terminal groins are installed in neighboring committees," reads the Dec. 2 resolution. "Inlet hazard areas are natural hazard areas that are especially vulnerable to erosion, flooding and other adverse effects of sand, wind and water."

Those characteristics make it potentially dangerous for residential development to begin along the former inlet, said former Mayor Richard Cerrato, whose term expired Monday.

"It is not good for the potential homeowners who are going to buy property, because it's going to be a high-flood zone area," he said. "This is a very sensitive area. We want to protect our coastline, and yet others are trying to develop it and I don't understand it. I am deeply concerned about this."

The CRC will discuss the matter at 11:45 a.m. on Thursday at the Hilton Double Tree, 2717 W. Fort Macon Road, Atlantic Beach.

<p>A proposal to remove an inlet hazard designation in Sunset Beach will go before the N.C. Coastal Resources Commission (CRC) at its meeting in Atlantic Beach next week, but it's unclear whether the board will reach a decision on the matter at that time.</p><p>"They could potentially vote, they may not," said Michele Walker, a spokeswoman for the state Division of Coastal Management. "I don't know if they will or not."</p><p>The proposal, originally recommended by the commission's science panel in a May 2010 report as part of an ongoing review of the state's 12 developed inlets, would loosen development rules on the former Mad Inlet in the Brunswick County town. The inlet, which separated protected, undeveloped Bird Island from Sunset Beach, closed naturally in 1997. But the area has retained its inlet hazard designation, including development regulations that are typically only applied to projects adjacent to open ocean inlets. Those regulations are more restrictive due to the unstable nature of inlets. </p><p>"Removal of the (designation) will allow property owners to develop under the more common oceanfront development standards as opposed to the more restrictive (inlet hazard) standards," according to documents from the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources, which also state that Mad Inlet is unlikely to reopen.</p><p>"An inlet hazard area is a specific area of environmental concern which has specific development rules associated with it," Walker said. "Since Mad Inlet has not been an inlet since 1997, we are proposing to not call it an inlet hazard area anymore for permit purposes."</p><p>Sunset Beach residents and officials have strongly protested the measure, and the Sunset Beach Town Council last week passed a resolution formally objecting to the proposal.</p><p>"The Town Council feels that there is a probability that Mad Inlet could reopen, given the amount of sand movement that will be experienced if terminal groins are installed in neighboring committees," reads the Dec. 2 resolution. "Inlet hazard areas are natural hazard areas that are especially vulnerable to erosion, flooding and other adverse effects of sand, wind and water."</p><p>Those characteristics make it potentially dangerous for residential development to begin along the former inlet, said former Mayor Richard Cerrato, whose term expired Monday. </p><p>"It is not good for the potential homeowners who are going to buy property, because it's going to be a high-flood zone area," he said. "This is a very sensitive area. We want to protect our coastline, and yet others are trying to develop it and I don't understand it. I am deeply concerned about this."</p><p>The CRC will discuss the matter at 11:45 a.m. on Thursday at the Hilton Double Tree, 2717 W. Fort Macon Road, Atlantic Beach.</p><p>Kate Elizabeth Queram: 343-2217</p><p>On <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/news41"><b>Twitter</b></a>: @kate_goes_bleu</p>